


A Doll's Tale

by LegendaryBiologist13



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Drama, Friendship, Multi, POV First Person, POV Inanimate Object, Supernatural Elements, Urban Legends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24942697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegendaryBiologist13/pseuds/LegendaryBiologist13
Summary: The Torment Doll has failed once, and is now struggling to overcome its fear of failure.
Relationships: Arisugawa Homare/Mikage Hisoka, Furuichi Sakyou/Tachibana Izumi, Takatoo Tasuku/Tsukioka Tsumugi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	A Doll's Tale

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Tsumugi's [Feelings Pouring From the Hisage], in which the Torment Doll appears as a character. This was initially planned to be just a quick one-shot about Tsumugi and Tasuku, but it just evolved.

Are you curious about my existence? I bet you do.

Allow me to introduce myself; I am what they call the Torment Doll. Perhaps it seems odd to you that a doll is sentient and likes to ramble. I assure you, however, I am not an ordinary plush toy a child would hug. In fact, kids avoid me like the plague. Honestly, they better do, even if I yearn for a child's touch.

As you can see, I have a cat-like appearance. By now you are probably wondering, "Then why do kids avoid you?" Well, I come with a pair of narrow, cartoonish eyes and a perpetual smug smile. It is a weird, appalling combination, but not that I can change it. After all, I am an inanimate object, not a human.

My creator discarded me as soon as I came to be, as my appearance would unnerve kids instead of capturing their hearts. I spent my time in the dump, waiting for someone to pick me up before I withered to nothingness. Then a strange woman discovered me and took me home, finding my appearance to be suitable for some kind of ritual dolls. I thought it was a good thing...

I was wrong. Very wrong. The rituals granted me stuff that could only exist in fantasy novels and movies. Can you imagine? I was supposed to be just a doll, a toy for children, yet I gained conscience and turned into a cursed entity. I could speak, I could fly, I could cloak my presence, I could exist forever, but worst of all, I could trap humans in a time loop.

With my newfound powers, I decided to escape from my wacky owner. I didn't want to be more accursed than I was now.

I returned to the dump, completely unseen by humans and animals alike. However, I couldn't imagine doing nothing for an eternity. It was boring. And meaningless. Thus I decided to wander. Maybe, just maybe, someone would pick me up and give me a place to belong.

One day, a young man came to my life. He found me lying on the ground of an alley, accompanied by rats and roaches.

"What a cute doll." He brushed the dust off my body. "I wonder why people throw it away just like this. It can be a nice prop for my theater."

If I could smile a happy smile like a human, I'd have done it. Someone had just called me cute, for goodness' sake! Yet I could never change the eternal smug smile on my face. Oh, how I wished those rituals had granted me the ability to express emotions like humans… Or perhaps not. If that had happened, I'd have been creepier than ever.

After having me washed in a laundry, that man, Yukio Tachibana, brought me to his friend's house. Or should I say, his enemy's house. Well, they weren't exactly enemies, but the word "friends" wouldn't suit them either. Perhaps I should just call him Yukio's colleague, since he and Yukio worked together in Mankai Company.

"What's with that ugly doll?" the man asked harshly.

"Eh? It's cute, isn't it? I just happened to find it," Yukio replied. "I'm thinking of using it as a prop for our next play."

"We're not doing a horror play, Tachibana."

"This doll doesn't have to be in a horror play, Reni."

"Are you out of your mind? Putting this ugly thing in our next play will only ruin the atmosphere."

"It's not that ugly. Maybe you can call it, 'ugly cute?'"

"See, that's why we can't get along. We have different views when it comes to theater. I strive for beauty and perfection, while you're like, 'whatever works.'"

"You should take things easy sometimes."

The argument went on for hours, evolving into something worse as it progressed. Eventually Reni decided to end it, but it was already late at night. There were no more trains.

As much as Reni hated it, he let Yukio sleep in his guest room with me.

At that moment I wondered, what if I used my power on them? What if I kept them from moving to the next day until they made up? It probably wouldn't work, but I'd never know until I tried.

It didn't work; instead, things went from bad to worse. I should've known it when Reni coldly told Yukio, "Fine, do whatever you want with your theater." Not long after that, Reni decided to leave Mankai.

I was a doll, so I couldn't cry even though I wanted to. This was all my fault.

Yukio decided to not use me as a prop; instead, he kept me in the theater's storage room. Perhaps it was for the best, but it stung me whenever I remembered that I caused all the mess. In addition, he called me "The Torment Doll" for my "subjecting bickering people to an eternal torment" stunt.

Since then, I swore to myself that I'd never trap anyone in a time loop again. I'd simply remain in the storage room forever.

I regret that. To this day, that foolish decision of mine still haunts me. I should've used my power when Yukio disappeared without a trace. I could've saved Mankai Company.

"You fool," my newfound friend, the Loupe of Sincerity, told me. Just like me, the magnifying glass is an accursed artifact Yukio picked up from the streets. Speech, flight, and invisibility aside, the loupe can peek into human mind.

"But what if I mess up again?" I asked.

"If you keep fretting over the outcome before you do anything, you will never get it done, foolish doll," the loupe grumbled. "Mankai is falling apart. Do you not think about Yukio's feelings? Do you not want to repay his kindness for providing us with a cozy home?"

"But-"

"Moreover, it is only a matter of time until our home disappears. While we can wander and find a new home with ease, the Unopening Door cannot."

"The Unopening Door?"

"Goodness, do you not know of its existence?" The loupe sighed. "What are you? A frog in a well?"

"You know, I haven't gone out since Yukio kept me in the storage room."

"Come, I shall introduce you to the Unopening Door. We, the accursed artifacts, must band together to protect Yukio's legacy."

That day, I finally left the storage room and saw the outside world again. Ah, how I missed the night sky. It was a special kind of blackness, the kind that helped the stars and the moon to shine all the brighter. Together they illuminated the courtyard of Mankai dorm.

If I were a human, my jaw would've dropped, and tears would've welled in my eyes. The stone pathway was cracked. Wilting plants and dead leaves were everywhere.

Mankai was dying.

"There it is." The Loupe of Sincerity flew past me and towards the two-story building. Amid the many timber doors we found one with a lighter hue. It looked rather pinkish and didn't have a lock.

"Good evening, Loupe," the door spoke. "I see you brought a new friend."

"Not quite new," the loupe replied. "This doll is merely a frog who has been living in the well."

"Please stop calling me that!" I told the loupe.

The door chuckled. "You're cute."

"Glad you think so," I responded. "People have been saying that I'm ugly. My ugly looks caused me a lot of trouble."

"Oh, really?"

"Honestly, appearance does not matter. If humans think you are ugly, then show them that you have a beautiful heart," the loupe said.

"A beautiful heart?" I asked.

"Nothing is more sickening than a beautiful human with an ugly heart. They look fabulous, but their attitude? Disgusting."

"How can I show that I have a beautiful heart then? I'm not a human."

"Protect Mankai. Show Yukio that you care about the company."

"Uh, I don't think I have-"

The loupe whacked me on the head. "Rid yourself of that pessimistic attitude, Torment Doll! You will not achieve anything if you keep thinking like that!"

"Remember, you're not alone," the door added. "Let's protect Mankai together."

You could say that I gained a tad bit of confidence after that. I really wanted to test my power again, even if it probably wouldn't work out. Unfortunately, Mankai had nobody other than Kamekichi the cockatoo and Isuke Matsukawa, a bumbling buffoon who, despite his ineptitude, always tried his best to take care of Mankai. He'd regularly clean the theater and the dorm, on top of trying to recruit new actors to the company; the latter never worked.

Since that day, the Loupe of Sincerity and I stayed inside the Unopening Door's pocket dimension. It looked like just a good ol' storage room, but in truth, it was a separate realm from reality. Somehow, it still felt an ordinary storage room.

Everyday, the loupe and I would leave the pocket dimension and roam the outside world. We waited and waited for Yukio's return, or perhaps a miracle, but nothing happened. It was a long, tedious wait, but the loupe had plenty of interesting stories to kill my boredom; well, I should've seen it coming. Despite being younger than me, the loupe had explored and studied a lot. "Learning something new feels like drinking from an oasis on a scorching desert," it had always told me. "I am not supposed to make that comparison since I am not a human, but you get the idea."

Years passed. Seasons changed over and over again. Yukio never returned, and neither did a miracle happen.

Then one evening, as we headed back to the Unopening Door, we saw something weird at the dorm. A young man ran up the walls and entered the building through an open window on the second floor, shouting, "Tri-tri-triangle! More triangles for my triangular home!"

"What an interesting fellow!" The loupe bolted across the air and towards the open window. "We should follow him, Torment Doll!"

"Ah, wait!"

I followed the loupe into the building and...what the hell? The room had a lot, I repeat, a lot of triangular objects. Traffic cones, colorful pennants, onigiri pillows, triangular and pyramidal ornaments… What the hell… What the...

My vision darkened, and soon, reddish luminescence illuminated everything. I saw a flash of the ritual chamber I used to be in, in addition to hearing that mad woman's incantations.

"Torment Doll!" the loupe called out.

The chanting stopped, and I found myself back in the zany room. A young man loomed before me, his mouth slightly ajar. Uh, was that a pair of triangular fangs in his mouth?

He picked me up and pinched my ears. "What a cute doll! It has a pair of triangular ears!"

That time, I didn't even know how he could hold me as if I were there in front of him. I thought this weirdo was also an accursed entity like me and my friends; of all things, he had a pair of triangular pupils. But then the loupe approached me, and the man didn't seem to notice its presence.

"Why did you reveal yourself to the world at an inappropriate moment?" it asked.

It was the shock from seeing all the triangles, I believe. I'd rather not think too much about that; if I didn't do something, I might end up as part of this guy's triangular collection.

"Listen to me, Torment Doll. This fellow is very familiar with Mankai," the loupe told me. "Introduce yourself to him."

I still remember my nervousness at that moment; what if talking didn't work? What would happen to me? Should I just cloak my presence again and flee? But this was the loupe's suggestion. It must have peeked into this guy's mind.

Besides, maybe this guy wasn't a bad guy. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

So I told the guy, "Excuse me, could you let me go? I'm no ordinary doll."

The man's eyes widened as he nearly dropped me. "Whoa, it can talk!"

"I'm what they call the Torment Doll. I can trap people in a time loop when I will it."

"Oh!" He smiled broadly. "Gramps often told me about you. You're one of the urban legends in Mankai."

"Your grandpa knows about this company?"

He nodded. "He was the scriptwriter."

"I see. So, your grandpa is Hakkaku Ikaruga."

"Yep!"

"How is-"

The loupe whacked me on the head. "It is never polite to ask about a dead person."

The man blinked. "Eh? I heard something..." Then he shifted his gaze to the Loupe of Sincerity, who hovered above my head.

"My apologies," the loupe spoke. "I do not intend to reveal myself right now, but I have no choice."

"Are you the Loupe of Sincerity? Gramps often talked about you too. You can read people's mind."

"Correct."

"Wow, the urban legends are real!"

"Please keep our existence a secret."

"Why?"

"It is no good if humans know too much about us. They might think of abusing our power."

"'Kay!"

That fellow, Misumi Ikaruga, eventually let us go after a nightlong chat. He was a very interesting guy, to say the least. At a glance you might see him as a mere weirdo who obsesses over triangles, but once you know him, you will find that he is something else. Behind that cheerful, energetic predisposition, he is a lonely guy. His family shuns him because according to them, he is weird. Only Hakkaku never gave up on him, but that old man was long gone.

Because of that, we often paid him a visit. I bet you are now wondering, "A human befriending a doll and a loupe? What kind of nonsense is this?" Well? Friendship knows no boundaries.

Not long after that, the yakuza Sakyo Furuichi came to Mankai Company, threatening to tear down the theater and turn it into a cabaret. However, the Loupe of Sincerity told me that his action actually pained him.

"He has fond memories of Mankai, particularly of Yukio and his daughter," the loupe said. "He used to frequent the company when he was a wee lad and had his eyes on Yukio's daughter."

"You think he'll spare the company?" I asked.

"He wants to, but he cannot defy his superiors. Mankai owed the yakuza a lot of money."

The end was nigh. In a few days, Mankai would disappear forever. Even though Matsukawa had finally recruited an actor, I could not bring myself to ask Misumi for help. You can't possibly make a good play with only two actors!

"Once again, you fret over the outcome before you do anything." The loupe sighed. "We should talk to Misumi."

"Loupe, please. Even if Misumi joins, we only have two actors. That isn't even half the amount for a troupe in Mankai. Then what about the script? The props? On top of that, the actor Matsukawa recruited has zero stage experience."

"You have a point, but are you going to leave things be? Are you going to sit idly by and watch as Sakyo demolishes Yukio's legacy?"

"There's nothing we can do."

There was a long pause before the loupe finally said, "Very well. If you say so, then let us leave things be. Prepare to move out."

That time, I had resigned to the fact that I'd regret my decision for an eternity. Not only Mankai, but a place Misumi and the Unopening Door called "home" would disappear too.

I was a fool, a coward, a failure. I was never brave enough to make a move because I was always too afraid of messing up. And I had never taken a step forward from my past.

On the day of demolition, however, a miracle happened. Yukio's daughter, Izumi Tachibana, came to the theater and stopped Sakyo from carrying out his duty.

"Sakyo remembers her, even if he pretends not to," the loupe told me. "Izumi does not remember however."

"You mean, he gave her one last chance because of that?"

"He has a strong attachment to Mankai, but the childhood love strengthens it." The loupe chuckled. "Love is a beautiful thing, is it not?"

"It is, I guess."

"You have no sense of romanticism."

"Oh, whatever. Now there's hope for Mankai, and that's all that matters. I can always learn about love and romanticism next time."

Months passed. Mankai had formed three troupes: Spring, Summer, and Autumn, each of which consisted of five members and specialized in a particular genre. Izumi was off to a rocky start with the theater management; the troupe members bickered a lot, and on top of that, most of them lacked theater experience. However, with a will of steel and the patience of a saint, she successfully helped the new actors resolve their issues and made them stand on stage in all their glory. If this continued, Mankai would eventually pay off its debt.

Our friend Misumi ended up joining Summer Troupe. At first I thought he would fit in Autumn Troupe better; his athleticism would be a huge asset for the action-oriented Autumn Troupe. However, Summer Troupe had something the lonely Misumi needed: friends. Kazunari Miyoshi, a very friendly member in Summer Troupe, never saw Misumi's obsession with triangles as something odd; instead, he just rolled with it. Whenever Kazunari had to create something for Misumi, be it a badge or a webpage, he'd make sure that they were all triangular or at least contained triangles.

At this point, you might think, "Ah, things are going smoothly for Mankai now!" Sorry to say, but you are very wrong.

After Autumn came Winter. When the loupe and I first saw the members of Winter Troupe, we thought Izumi had a head start; everyone, even the inexperience ones, could perform extremely well. However, they had something else going on, and boy, it was truly something else. Unlike the other troupes, in which the members would straight up argue or even fight with each other, Winter Troupe was… Uh, Tsumugi Tsukioka and Tasuku Takato never argued, but that Tsumugi avoided Tasuku and Tasuku often shot Tsumugi a displeased look during rehearsals hinted that they were actually fighting.

To make things worse, with everyone in the troupe being either as old as or older than Izumi, she became rather hesitant to approach them. Not to mention, the rest of the troupe members kept their distance with each other; Izumi couldn't count on their help.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Reni, now the chairman of God Troupe, challenged Mankai to an act-off. Should Mankai's Winter Troupe win, he'd hand over the revenue of God Troupe's next production; according to Tasuku, a former God Troupe actor, it would be enough to pay off Mankai's debt. However, should God Troupe win, Mankai would have to disband on spot.

How could Winter Troupe succeed with such a subtle, yet extremely detrimental conflict within them?

"This is our chance to save Mankai in one swoop, " the loupe told me. "We have to step in."

We indeed had to, hence our gathering tonight with the Unopening Door.

"In a few days Tsumugi has to decide whether to accept the act-off challenge or not. You have any idea how to help?" I asked.

"Tsumugi will never come up with a decision," the loupe replied. "Similar to you, he frets too much over the outcome."

Honestly, I felt for Tsumugi. Both of us once failed, and now we were cowards. However, at least Tsumugi tried to take a step forward by giving things another shot, unlike me.

"Trap him in a time loop before the d-day, Torment Doll. Perhaps along with Tasuku as well, so they can make up." Before I could speak up, the loupe whacked me on the head. "No ifs, no buts. This is a good chance for you to grow out of your bad habit."

The loupe had a point. If I were a human, I'd have felt how my heart was hammering wildly against my chest. I was afraid of messing up again, but at the same time, I really wanted to be a better "person" too.

"How about you then?" I asked the loupe.

"Leave Homare to me. There is absolutely no guile or malice in him, and he genuinely wants to help everybody, but his attempt often comes off as an unwanted assistance."

"What do you mean?"

"He cannot read the situation and is careless with words. With my ability, I suppose I can keep him from hurting others' feelings by accident."

"I bet that's not only the reason." The Unopening Door chuckled. "You've taken an interest in him, haven't you?"

"You've been stalking him during rehearsals," I added.

"Who would not be interested in studying the mind of a kind-hearted loon? It is chaotic and happy, yet simple and sad at the same time. A beautiful chaos, I must say."

"I don't get what you mean," I told the loupe.

"Chaos is not meant to be understood."

Studying Homare's "beautifully chaotic" mind had probably driven him nuts, I thought. "Then how about you, Unopening Door?"

"That leaves me with Hisoka and Azuma, huh?"

"They have set up some kind of barrier to keep a distance, I must say. No, everyone in Winter Troupe is actually keeping a distance with each other," the loupe said. "They never bother baring their souls to each other or poking their noses into someone else's business."

"Even Hisoka and Homare?" I asked. "Homare spoils Hisoka like a kid and hardly ever leaves him alone."

"Let me repeat, Hisoka had set up some kind of barrier. Homare _might_ open up to him, but Hisoka would never want to." The loupe paused. "Emphasize on the _might_. Homare takes good care of Hisoka, but he hardly ever talks about his personal life, especially his past."

Even if the loupe might be a bit loony in my eyes, I could always trust it when it came to observing humans.

"Consider trapping the entire Winter Troupe in your pocket dimension, Unopening Door," the loupe said. "If they insist on keeping that distance, then let us force them to change their mind."

The door laughed. "That sounds fun."

As the d-day drew closer, I could hardly think straight. Of course, the loupe would always smack my head and remind me that I was not alone, but I could never shake the fear of failure off me.

"Foolish doll," the loupe grumbled. "Compared to the conflict between Yukio and Reni, this is far easier to resolve. How many times have I told you that Tasuku has a hard time being honest with his feelings and actually treasures his childhood memories with Tsumugi? He only needs a little push."

I know I could always trust the loupe, but with Tasuku being so sullen towards Tsumugi all the time, I somehow became doubtful. How could I give Tasuku the push he needed? I couldn't possibly reveal myself to him- Ah, I know!

Believe it or not, I ended up asking Misumi for help. I expected him to deny my request, as him being in the time loop would result in his newfound triangles disappearing on the "new" day until I stopped the loop. To my surprise, he didn't.

Perhaps, as said by the loupe over and over again, I shouldn't fuss over the outcome before doing anything.

"I got to make many friends and keep my triangles here," Misumi told me with a long face. "I don't want Mankai to disappear."

I wished I could smile a happy smile, but as a doll, I couldn't.

Face hardened with determination, Misumi said, "Tell me what I should do, Torment Doll."

"Keep an eye on Tsumugi and Tasuku. Nudge them into mending their friendship, but most importantly, tell them to be honest with their feelings," I replied. "Also, please pretend that you're unaware of how you end up in the loop. Be angry at how your newfound triangles keep disappearing the next day."

"'Kay!"

The day before the d-day, I was glad to have decided to make a move. Just as the Loupe of Sincerity had predicted, Tsumugi couldn't come up with a decision. At that, Tasuku went to seize Tsumugi by his collar and would've punched Tsumugi if Izumi hadn't stopped him.

"'Tsumugi… This is my fault. I should've consoled him when he didn't pass the God Troupe audition. Now he's such a mess.' That's what I gathered from Tasuku's mind," the loupe told me. "As you can see, he only needs a little push."

Things should be easy, I kept telling myself. Things should be _very_ easy.

That night, when the distressed Tsumugi roamed the courtyard for fresh air, I let myself fall from the balcony and land in front of him. I hoped my stunt wouldn't spook him; I would soon subject him and Tasuku to something worse.

He picked me up. "A doll? Did someone drop it from a window?" He smiled a bit. "It's kinda cute."

Did he just call me cute? What a sweet fellow.

Hugging me tightly, perhaps for comfort, he looked up at the starry night sky. "I just wish I could talk to Tasuku like we did in the old days..."

I shouldn't laugh even if I wanted to. My goal was to make that come true after all.

It took a day for Tsumugi and Tasuku to learn and believe that they were indeed in a time loop and had to make up to break free; it might've taken longer if not for Misumi's help. When they finally did, they tried to show me how close they were. Never had I thought that containing laughter would be this tough.

Tsumugi and Tasuku held hands, placed their hands on each others' shoulders, and laughed together in front of me, hoping that I would release them from the loop soon.

"They were merely acting buddy-buddy to each other," the loupe told me. "What do you think?"

"I will continue the loop," I replied.

"Good."

The next morning, Misumi barged into their dorm room and gave them an earful. It was just an act, but Misumi's anger was so heartfelt that if I hadn't been involved in the planning, it'd have shocked me. A talented actor, he was.

Before leaving, he told the two, "Patching things up is easy. Just tell the person how you really feel."

When Tasuku showed interest in that, I thought he wanted to do it just so that they could escape from the loop. However, the loupe said otherwise.

"Deep down, Tasuku longs for a reconciliation with Tsumugi. He can never attain a peace of mind until he does so."

Hearing that, I could feel that victory was within reach.

Tasuku dragged Tsumugi to the streets and performed an etude with him; according to the loupe, the performance reminded Tasuku of his old days with Tsumugi. They ended up reminiscing, and it only got better and better.

"Ever since middle school, all I've wanted to do is act with you. It's that fun for me. Even when we graduated college, I wanted to join God Troupe with you," Tsumugi said. "But it didn't pan out that way. I didn't pass the audition, and I was so crushed. I gave up on theater for a while."

"Tsumugi…"

"But I still just couldn't let go of that feeling I get when I'm standing on stage and the curtain goes up. That's why I want to give it another shot."

"What do you want to do now then? Run away? Or stand strong?"

"Honestly? I want to stand tall on stage as the lead."

"Then tell everyone that. Don't just give up on it. I've got your back."

"Tasuku, do you mean that?"

Tasuku smiled. "Of course I do."

"You did it, Torment Doll!" the loupe praised me as it hovered over Tasuku's head. "You should release- Goodness, this is marvelous!"

"Wha-"

"Listen!"

I remained still; boy, how much I wanted to shout, "Come on! Come on!"

With a remorseful face, Tasuku muttered, "Tsumugi, back then, I was-"

Then Taichi and Banri passed by, and Tasuku ended the speech just right there. The loupe and I sighed. "Party poopers," we both grumbled.

Back at the dorm, the loupe and I watched as Tsumugi asked everyone to gather in the living room, told everyone about his past failure, and declared his determination to accept the challenge and do his very best. At the end of his speech, Tasuku even smiled sincerely and told Tsumugi, "We're in this together."

Never had I felt happier than that; for once, I was finally successful. Since that day, I learned to not fuss over the outcome before doing anything.

I am also happy to see Tsumugi gain more confidence. Why not? Winter Troupe defeated God Troupe in the act-off, and Mankai was finally free from debt. That itself was such a feat, even though they received a lot of help from us, the accursed artifacts, the urban legends of Mankai.

Even though Mankai was saved, the company had a long way to go. Out of the four troupes, Winter Troupe had to grow up the most, despite being a troupe full of grown-up men.

"They are only a wee bit closer right now," the loupe said.

"Should we lure them into the Unopening Door then?" I asked.

"I believe they will learn to not depend too much on us someday. Do you know? Homare resolves to not use me as a crutch in the future."

The door chuckled. "It's always him."

"He is such an interesting fellow. Can you believe it? Hisoka is a selfish, unfriendly person, yet Homare continues to pamper him." The loupe sighed. "Homare provides him with five bags of marshmallows a day, queues up for limited-edition marshmallows, and even tracks his marshmallows consumption, for goodness' sake! Homare can immediately know that something is off if Hisoka consumes too few!"

"You're a cute one, Loupe."

"You sound like Azuma at times."

"I'm very interested in breaking down the barrier he has created. I didn't manage to when I trapped him in here with Izumi though."

"Uh, you think Winter Troupe will still need us in the future?" I asked.

"I hope not," the loupe replied. "If they can resolve their personal issues without our intervention, that means their bonds have strengthened. They have finally grown."

"As much as I want to trap them in my pocket dimension, I believe they're better off without us," the door added. "They will never grow if they keep depending on us, will they?"

"You have a point," I responded.

Perhaps that may sound mean to you, but humans should never depend too much on us, should they? However, I, along with the Loupe of Sincerity and the Unopening Door, will continue to watch over Mankai Company, particularly Winter Troupe, from the shadows. Only when we are truly needed will we show ourselves and lend a hand.


End file.
